A Single Shot
by EscapeHollowFieldsClub
Summary: When Chin is mysteriously murdered in the middle of the night, it's up to Five-0 to discover who committed this crime. But not all the pieces fit together and there is much more to this mystery than it seems. Can they solve it in time?
1. Prolouge

Hello peoples! This is Trina, one of the writers of Anthem of the Angels.

I decided to step off the beaten path and write a little story of my own. I have recently developed a love for Hawaii Five-0 and decided to create a case for them and my OC, Dakota.

This is for all you Five-0 fans! Read and enjoy!

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Chin stepped out of the bar, smiling contentedly to himself as he walked down the street. After Five-0's recent success with the Meka case, he felt it acceptable to have a drink. He'd invited the team to come along and enjoy themselves, on him, but Danny was taking Grace out to dinner tonight, Steve was spending time with an old friend of his, Andrew Azburn, who worked for HPD, and Kono wasn't a big fan of drinking. So Chin went alone, planning to walk home afterward. However, he'd forgotten how dark Honolulu's streetscould get, and tonight seemed especially dark. He found himself wishing for his motorcycle.

He turned on to Hono Circle, just three blocks from his house, whistling contentedly. The sound echoed off the brooding, old beach-side buildings. No body was to be seen along the well-worn streets.

Which was why Chin was caught off guard when he ran right into someone. He stumbled back, and so did the person.

"Oh I'm so sorry!" a voice said. "I guess I wasn't looking where I was going!"

They laughed nervously, and it sounded very familiar. Chin peered through the darkness, trying to see the person in the dim street lamp. He caught a flash of white teeth breaking into a familiar smile.

"Dakota?" Chin asked. "Dakota Azburn?"

The young woman squinted in the dark. "Oh Chin it's you!" she breathed, rather relieved. "Goodness gracious you scared me."

Chin could see her clearly now. Dakota was Andrew Azburn's 36 year old daughter. She looked like she was coming from a party. Her reddish brown hair was pulled back out of her eyes and she was wearing a blue blouse and jeans.

"What are you doing out here?"

She sighed. "Dad and Steve have taken over the house tonight." she said. "So I thought I'd take some time for myself. I needed a break from being the house-maid."

Chin raised his eyebrows mischievously. "Knowing Steve and Andrew, you'll probably have a bigger mess to come home to."

Dakota laughed. "Then I guess I'd better get home then."

"What's the rush?"

She sighed. "Truthfully?" she replied. "I don't like being alone when it's dark out. Especially now."

"Why?"

"There have been..." Dakota paused, sighed and began again. "Some guys have been wondering around the neighborhood for a few nights now. They come in, stare at the houses for a few hours and then just...disappear. They gave my dad a pretty good scare. He was determined that I not leave the house at all yesterday."

"It's a wonder he let you go out tonight."

Dakota grinned. "I talked him into it. I can be pretty persuasive when I want to be."

Chin laughed. "I guess you'd better get on home." he said. 'Wouldn't want to keep your dad waiting too long."

Dakota grabbed his arm as he was about to leave. "Come with me." she said. "Please?"

Chin gave an over-exasperated groan. "Fine..." he said, pretending to dread the thought. Dakota giggled. "You know you want to," she said, linking her arm through his. "Come on." She pulled him down the street as he pretended to struggle. Dakota burst into a giggling fit as they paused at the edge of the light caused by the lamp. Chin found himself laughing too.

There was a rustle in the trees. Dakota and Chin became silent and stared at each other. Chin peered through the tree line, looking for the source of the noise.

That's when the man stepped out of the shadows and pointed a gun strait at Chin's chest.

"Don't move, Five-0."

Chin froze, then pushed Dakota the opposite direction and away from the man. Another thug stepped in their path, along with two others on either side. They were surrounded. In a last attempt to protect Dakota, Chin pushed her behind him. This proved to be a sad mistake when one man grabbed her in a headlock and lifted her off the ground. She kicked and screamed but to no avail. Dakota was strong, but this man was stronger. Chin attempted to run to her aid, but two more men blocked his path and pushed him away. Enraged, Chin threw a punch at the man's cheek, which knocked him back.

His friend hooked Chin in the jaw, causing him to stumble and rub his mouth tenderly, much to his attacker's delight.

"What's the matter Five-0?" he teased. "You got yourself a boo boo?"

Chin responded with a punch to the nose, which gave a satisfying crunch under his fist. The man howled and dropped to his knees as blood spurted from the wound.

"No," Chin replied. "But I think you do."

Angry at the fate of their friend, the last two men jumped him. Dakota took that moment as a chance to escape. She kicked the man hard in the knee, which caused him to stumble. Once her feet were back on solid ground, she bit him hard on the hand. The man howled and released his grip. Dakota rolled away as he flailed about, pouring over his injured hand.

"Dakota, _run!" _Chin yelled as one man grabbed him in a vice grip, cutting off his air. He doubled over, trying to pull him off.

Dakota didn't argue. She turned and sprinted up the street, headed for home. Two men prepared to pursue her, but the leader stopped them.

"Leave her," he ordered. "She's not the target."

He pulled out his gun and jammed it into Chin's back.

Dakota dove into an alley, desperate not to loose sight of Chin. She took refuge behind a dumpster, where she had clear view of the five men.

Two more figures pulled guns on Chin. They were yelling now. Chin dove for the leader's gun in a last attempt to save himself.

A single shot split the night.


	2. Chapter 1

Steve McGarrett was angry, not an unusual occurrence in the Hawaii Five-0 Headquarters, but it was what he was angry about that really surprised everyone. Because it was something no one believed would ever happen.

Steve shuffled papers on his desk as he relived the news. He'd been enjoying a nice night with his old friend Andrew Azburn, a veteran HPD officer. They'd both been enjoying the game on television, when Dakota burst through the door. She was crying and out of breath.

"He's dead!" she had wailed.

It took a while for Steve and Andrew to calm her down enough to get information out of her. But once she told them, Steve wished she hadn't.

Chin was dead. Shot, close-range, in the chest.

Steve got no sleep that night. He called Danny and broke the news. The detective hung up without a word, but arrived at the Azburn's ten minutes later.

Then came the hard part. Breaking it to Kono. Steve involuntarily flinched as he remembered the conversation.

_Ring ring. Ring ring. _

_"Hello?"_

_"Kono, it's me." Steve said. _

_"Hey bossman, what's up?" _

_Steve shot a look at Danny, who nodded encouragement. _

_'I've got some bad news Kono." he continued. "Are you sitting down?" _

That was the worst way to begin the whole thing. As soon as Kono heard those words, she knew something was wrong. She fell silent as Steve explained the situation to her. She was silent for a long time afterwords too.

_"I'm so sorry Kono," Steve had said. "I'm so...so sorry." _

There had been no answer. Kono had hung up. She was horrified and had a right to be. Chin was her family and the closest thing she had to a brother. She was so distraught that Danny went to pick her up for fear that she would do something stupid.

When everyone was crammed into the Azburn's tiny living room, Steve asked Dakota to show them where everything had happened.

She led them half a mile down the street to the spot were the men had attacked. Five-0 searched everywhere, but the place was picked clean. There were no bullet castings; no residue anywhere, not one blade of grass was out of place.

There wasn't even a body. All they had to go on was Dakota's witness.

And the fact that Chin was missing.

Kono tried calling his cell and his home phone. She'd gotten the answering machine on both. When they went by Chin's house they discovered that he hadn't been there at all last night.

Which meant there was only one explanation...

In a fit of uncharacteristic anger, Steve shoved the papers off the desk where they spiraled onto the floor. He buried his face in his hands.

_Why Chin? _he thought, _What did they want?_

Steve figured "they" where people from Chin's past.

There was a knock. Steve pulled his hands away to see Dakota standing nervously in front of his door.

"Come in."

Dakota opened the door and stepped in. She looked awful, with her brown hair in a rat's nest and dark circles under her eyes. She looked like she'd been up all night, which she had. Steve figured that he looked no better.

"Hey," he said gently. "What are you doing here? I thought you had work today."

Dakota slid into the chair across from him. "I did." she said. "I called in sick, and thought I'd come see you."

She glanced at the mess of papers on the floor. "Did the office tornado pass through?" she asked.

Steve smiled, reached down and scooped up the mess. "Where's your dad?" he asked, dumping the pile on his desk.

"At work," Dakota replied. "He's got his hands full with the same case."

Steve nodded and began to shuffle the papers again. When he looked up, he was surprised to see Dakota staring at the ground. Tears were streaming down her face. Steve leaned forward and grabbed her hand.

"Dakota." she looked up to see Steve staring at her intensely. "I know you've been through hell these past few hours, but anything else you can tell me about last night, _anything at all_, that would be really helpful."

"I've told you everything I saw," Dakota said miserably. "There was a lot of yelling after Chin told me to run. I didn't catch anything they said. There was a gunshot and Chin..." she gulped back a sob. "Chin fell. That's all that happened."

"Can you describe any of the men? Did you see any of their faces?"

"No..." she whispered, with a slight shake of her head. "It was too dark and they all kept to the shadows."

Steve leaned back in his chair and folded his hands. "It seems to me they knew what they were doing."

Dakota nodded, her lip trembling. She buried her face in her hands and burst into tears.

"Aww, Kota..." Steve muttered.

He let her cry as he attempted to shuffle through the papers again. The door opened and Danny stuck his head in.

"Is this a bad time?" he asked, glancing at Dakota.

Dakota sat up and wiped her eyes. She and Steve exchanged looks.

"No," Steve replied. "What is it?"

Danny looked worried. 'Kono got a call from HPD." he began.

Steve stood. "And?"

"They want us down at the impound." the detective continued. "They found Chin's body."


	3. Chapter 2

Kono stood in the middle on the yard and stared at the sky. The fluffy white clouds seeming way to cheerful for how she was feeling.

For the first time in her life, she wished it would rain. At least then she wouldn't be enjoying this good weather while Chin could never enjoy it again.

Her eyes flickered down to the dusty ground, then back up. She spied Dakota, standing apart from the rest of them, fighting back more tears. She glanced across the street, where their cars were parked. She fiddled with her badge.

Kono looked everywhere but at the body.

As if to show how ruthless they were, the criminals had not only abandoned the body in a trash heap, but had also burned it to a charred mess. When the team had first laid eyes on it, it was very difficult to see if it really was Chin.

Then they saw the badge attached to its waist. And the single bullet hole in the chest practically screamed murder.

Danny stood up from where he was kneeling next to Steve and came over. He placed a hand on Kono's shoulder.

"This must be really hard for you." he said.

Like Danny didn't know. He'd lost a friend to the exact same thing only a few weeks ago.

Kono didn't reply. Instead, she took out her wallet and stared at the picture inside. It was her and Chin, standing on the beach around sunset. The fiery colors in the background couldn't compare the fiery look in her eyes, versus Chin's calm, understanding gaze. They had their arms around each other and were laughing.

That picture had been taken only two weeks ago.

Now it felt like a century.

Kono put her wallet away and glanced at Danny. "We were so close." she whispered, feeling her eyes get wet. "He is...was...the closest thing I had to a brother."

Danny rubbed her back. "I know." he said. Kono leaned on his shoulder and burst into tears. He wrapped his arms around her.

"Hey now," he said. "It's alright."

_No it's not..._Kono thought. _Those people are still out there. _

"How 'bout this," Danny pulled her off his shoulder and held her at arms length. "You and Dakota go to her house. Stay there, you both need some rest. We'll call you if anything comes up alright?"

Kono nodded mutely.

"Good." Danny said, letting her go. He looked up and called Dakota's name, gesturing for her to join them. She jogged over and stood next to Kono.

"I told Kono to go home with you, okay?" Danny said. "You guy's have done good. Now you need some time off."

Dakota smiled sheepishly at Kono. The girls were friends, but Dakota still believed that Kono blamed her for Chin's death.

Kono didn't know if that was true or not. Dakota nodded to Danny.

"Atta girl," he said, squeezing her hand. He looked up at Kono, who was glaring at the ground.

"Hey..."

Kono looked up.

"We'll find these guys okay?" he said. "They'll regret what they did."

"Like heck they will." Kono glared at her partner. "Promise me something, Danny."

"Anything."

"When you catch these guys, call me. I want-" she gritted her teeth, angry now.

"I want to make them pay."

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

"I really think you should've stayed, Kono. No use in staying here babysitting me."

Kono smiled as she handed Dakota a mug of hot chocolate. Kota took a long during before continuing.

"I mean, I love Steve and all, but he's gonna need all the help he can get on this case. What use are you against killers if you're a man short?"

Kono laughed. "You obviously haven't seen the boss in action."

Kono and Dakota were sitting on the couch in the Azburn living room. They hadn't talked at all on the car ride. When Kono pulled into the drive, she'd offered to make cocoa for the both of them. Then Kota started on how she felt like a burden and that the case was going to go in circles only because Kono agreed to take leave.

Kono let her talk. Always better to vent to a friend than to hold it in.

Besides, secretly, Kono felt the same way. Police work was her job. That's why she attended the Academy in the first place.

But right now, her job was to do nothing.

"Hey," Kono put down her mug. "They're doing their best and as soon as I can I'll be back on the case okay? For both of us."

Dakota sighed.

"You know what?" Kono said. "There's no use hanging around here when neither of us can sleep. How bout we go down to the beach. I always feel better near the ocean."

"Sounds good to me." Kota smiled.

"Alright then." Kono said. "I'll call Steve and tell him where we're going. You can get your stuff together."

Dakota slurped down the rest of her cocoa and reached for her shoes as Kono pulled out her phone. She dialed Steve's number and wandered into the kitchen. As the dial tone droned in the background, Kono's eyes flickered to a picture on the fridge.

It was Chin, sitting on his knees and grinning from ear to ear. Dakota was on his back with her arms wrapped around his neck. She was laughing. Some kind of party was going on in the background.

Kono recognized the scene. It was Dakota's brithday party, six months ago. The whole team had been invited.

Dakota looked so happy then, especially around Chin.

Now...she didn't even look like the same person.

Kono realized that Kota loved Chin almost as much as she did.

Which made finding his killers all the more important.


	4. Chapter 3

Please tell me that was Max." Danny said as Steve hung up the phone.

Steve shook his head. "Nah, that was Kono." he said.

'Is she alright?" Danny took a left at the light and began driving down the stretch leading to Hawaii Five-0 Headquarters.

"Yeah she's fine." Steve replied. "She just called to say that she's not coming back. She and Dakota are going down to the beach."

"Good for them." Danny pulled into his parking space. "They need a break." He put the Camaro in park and shut off the engine. He and Steve climbed out.

"In the meantime, we're still trying to figure out who would want to kill Chin." Steve said, opening the door and following Danny inside.

"Good point." Danny leaned up against the central computer table. "Who _would_ want Chin dead?"

Steve frowned and rubbed his chin. "The...Sinhans maybe?"

Danny raised an eyebrow. "You think?"

The Sinhans were an island gang that were the only living drug dealers left to crawl around the back alleys of Waikiki and Honolulu. For a few years, they'd attempted to recruit Chin after he was blacklisted from HPD. Of course, he refused.

When Hawaii Five-0 was established, he'd worked tirelessly to put their leader behind bars He succeeded and became gang enemy number one. They all hated him.

But did they hate him enough to kill him?

"You think Chin ever got any threats?" Danny mused. "Phone calls or...or notes maybe?"

"He never said anything." Steve replied. "Besides, the Sinhans aren't that stupid. If they had plans to kill Chin, it would've been by surprise."

"True..."

There was silence for a few moments as both men stewed in their own thoughts. Finally Steve grabbed the keys from the table.

"Come on," he said, heading for the door. "You know where we have to go."

"You really think he's gonna talk to you?" Danny asked.

"I'll convince him to."

Danny sighed.

"I was afraid you'd say that."

"Here he is."

The officer led the tall, tanned convict in front of Steve and Danny. The man was at least a head taller than Danny, his orange jumpsuit stretched over perfectly sculpted muscles.

Danny stood at the end of the metal table, arms crossed. Steve, who was standing right across from the convict, turned to the officer.

"Thanks, you can leave him."

The man raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"

"Yeah," Steve smirked. "He's not going anywhere."

The guard shrugged and left the room, slamming the door behind him. Steve turned to the convict.

"Koddah right?" he asked. "Have a seat."

Koddah slid into the small metal chair and rested his cuffed hands on the table.

"What's this about?"

Steve put his hands on the table. "Do you know who we are?" he asked.

Koddah squinted, getting a good look at the two men. Finally, he chuckled and leaned back in his chair.

"Well if it isn't the Five-0 boys." he mused. "How could I have forgotten? You and your team are the reason I'm wearing these." He held up the cuffs.

"Chin did most of the work." Danny muttered.

Koddah smiled. "True." he said. "And where is my old friend Chin Ho? Why isn't he here helping you interrogate me?"

"He's dead." Steve replied.

Koddah's smiled faded. He looked rather taken aback.

"Sorry to hear that." he said. "I respected the guy, even if he did cause me some problems."

"There's no sorry to it." Danny said. "He was shot last night in a crowded suburban area...in front of a _witness_."

"And, as far as we know, your boys still have it in for him." Steve added. "So do you."

Koddah looked from Steve's face to Danny's. Realization sunk in.

"Whoa whoa whoa," Koddah said, raising his hands. "You think I killed him?"

"Not you personally." Danny replied. "But there are ways to get orders out to people from prison. Let's say, for example, one of your boys comes to visit. You two exchange a few words, he leaves, no harm done right? _Except_ for the fact that you just gave coded orders to go kill one of my partners."

Koddah shook his head. "Look," he said. "If any of my guys killed Chin Ho, then it wasn't on my instructions. I haven't talked to any of them since I came here."

"Can anybody else verify that?" Steve asked.

"The guards man, ask any of 'em."

"Don't' worry," Danny said. "We will."

"One more question." Steve continued. "You gotta Second?"

"Huh?"

"You know, second-in-command. The guy who's most likely in charge while you're here."

"Uh yeah," Koddah looked real nervous now. "Alden. He's like, my right hand man." He looked up at Steve, beads of sweat glistening on his forehead. "Can I go now?"

"Yeah, you can go." Steve replied. He walked over to the door and knocked twice. The officer on duty entered.

Danny nodded for Koddah to stand, and then crossed his arms. "Here's a fair warning though," he said. "If we found out you lied to us, you're gonna get more than just 20 to life. You understand me?"

Koddah nodded.

"Good, now get out of here."

The guard led Koddah out and the door slammed shut behind them. Danny sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Well that got us nowhere." he complained.

"Maybe not," Steve replied. "We can still talk to this Alden character. Find out what he knows."

"And if he's not our guy?"

"Then it's back to square one."

Steve's phone rang. He fished it out of his pocket and pressed it to his ear. "McGarrett."

There was silence as the person on the other end spoke.

"Alright, we'll be right there." Steve terminated the link and turned to Danny. "That was Max." he said.

Danny raised his eyebrows. "And?"

"He wants us down at the lab." Steve continued. "He says he's got something he wants us to see."


	5. Chapter 4

"It's not Chin."

The doctor folded his hands and stared calmly at the detectives. Both men were in shock. Not even Steve could speak. Both were thinking the exact same thing...

_What?_

Surprisingly, Danny was the first to recover. He cleared his throat. "What do you mean _it's not Chin?" _

Max Bergsman sighed. "When you brought the body to me this morning," he began. "I verified that it did, in fact, die from a gun wound."

"Right..." Steve said, slowly.

"I also realized that this poor man's time of death was over two weeks ago," Max continued. "Although I wasn't able to put a name to him, I'm afraid this gentleman has been passed off as Chin Ho."

"That means..." Danny began.

"Correct," Max finished. "Chin's body, if he truly is dead, is either in possession of our killers or has been disposed of."

Steve slammed his hands on the table, no longer in shock. _"Damn!" _

Danny frowned at the doctor. "You're sure about this?"

"100 percent." Max replied. "If you like, I can pull out the results so you can look at them."

"No thanks," Danny shot a glance at Steve, who was pacing up and down the room. "But can you leave us alone for a bit?"

Max nodded and scurried from the room, clearly frightened by Steve's display of profanity.

Danny turned to Steve. "Was that really necessary?" he asked.

"What?"

"That," Danny insisted. "Back there." Steve raised his eyebrows confused. Danny groaned. "You have no idea how to act around people do you?" he asked. "This is just like the time in the elevator..."

"Please don't bring that up now."

"Well could you try to be a little nicer please? This isn't Max's fault."

"Fine. I'm sorry okay?" Steve said. "Better?"

Danny shook his head. This conversation was going nowhere. He decided to turn it back to the matter at hand.

"What now?"

"It's like I said, Danno." Steve replied. "Back to square one." He sighed, all anger gone. "We're farther behind on this case than I'd like to be."

"I'm calling Kono." Danny fumbled with his phone.

"She's with Dakota," Steve replied. "She probably won't even answer."

"Well I've got to try don't I?" Danny asked. "Chin was her cousin; she has a right to know."

He scrolled through his contacts and found Kono's name. He paused. Chin's number was right above hers, and, for a moment, Danny was tempted to call it. Chin would pick it up, safe in his house, and laugh, saying that it was all a big joke.

But Danny knew better.

He selected Kono's name and pressed the phone to his ear. The dial tone droned for a moment, and then there was a click in the background.

"Hello?"

Danny took a deep breath. "Hey Kono, it's me." he said. "Can you meet us at headquarters? We've found some things out we thought you'd like to know."

Silence.

"I'll be there." Kono promised

Kono put her phone away. "Danny and Steve want us down at headquarters." she said to Dakota.

Kota put the last spoonful of strawberry snow cone in her mouth and swallowed. "Did they find something?" she asked, putting the bowl down.

"Yeah," Kono said, pulling the keys from her purse. "It must be good if they're acting all secretive about it." She threw the keys to Kota. "And since you're all hyped up on snow cone syrup," she said. "You can drive; just don't get us in trouble."

Dakota grinned.

Fifteen minutes later, Dakota pulled into the parking lot of Five-0 HQ. Steve and Danny stood waiting for them on the steps.

Steve's eyes flickered to Dakota, and she could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't happy that she was there. In response, she smiled.

"What's up?" Kono asked Danny as they walked inside.

"We just got back from talking with Max." he replied.

Kono froze. She and Dakota exchanged wide-eyed looks.

"A..and?" Kono asked, her voice barely audible.

Danny smiled reassuringly. "It's okay," he said. "He found out something...interesting."

And he told them the doctor's news.

The silence in the office was defeating. Kono sat down hard in a chair. Dakota gasped and pressed a hand to her mouth, trying to hide the excited flush rising on her cheeks.

"Is that a good thing?" she asked. "I mean...that means...he could still be alive."

Steve frowned. "I don't know," he admitted. "I'm not sure what to think and frankly I'm not sure we should jump to conclusions..."

Kono rubbed her forehead. "What now?"

"Well we were about to go and talk to one of the Sinhans." Danny replied. "A guy called Alden. He's in charge, according to Koddah."

"I'll go." Kono stood up.

Steve nodded. "Alright." he said. "We'll drop Dakota off at home and..."

"I'm not ten years old Steve," Kota huffed. "I can drive myself."

"Besides," Kono said, grabbing her keys. "I'm going alone."

The guys exchanged glances. "Kono..." Steve began.

"Look," Kono snapped. "That guy has either killed my cousin or is holding him hostage. That doesn't sit well with me okay? I'm going to find out why he's so interested in Chin Ho."

She glared at both men. "And you can't stop me."

With those parting words, she brushed past the boys and left the building, slamming the door behind her.


	6. Chapter 5

_Chin felt the bullet rip through his flesh and hit bone. He couldn't run, he couldn't scream. _

_He was falling. He felt the dull thud of the ground beneath him, but it made no impact. In his mind, he just kept falling._

_He could see the dark shadows gathered above him, making sure they had done the job right. They blurred as Chin slipped further away from consciousness. _

_Something warm began spilling on his leg. He was drowning in blood._

_Unable to think...he slipped into unconsciousness. _

Chin floated in and out of consciousness. He had been for a while now. He didn't know where he was or how he got there.

Or maybe he wasn't anywhere on Earth. Maybe he was dead.

But if this was what death felt like, he didn't want to be. Chin had never been in a worse state. His vision was dark and long shapes swam in and out of it from time to time. There was frequent booming above his head that made his ears ring and his head pounded like he had a hangover.

_Maybe that's what happened, _Chin thought hopefully. _Maybe I got drunk and someone took me home. _

Chin didn't have the strength to remember that he never got drunk. Ever.

Slowly his ears stopped ringing and he began to recognize the booming above him. They were voices.

A woman's voice was speaking right above him. Chin didn't know if it was familiar or not.

_It's Kono,_ He suddenly thought. _She's taking care of me._

Another voice spoke. Louder this time, and closer.

"Chin...Chin can you hear me?"

Chin couldn't recognize this voice at all. Maybe his deluded state was throwing off his senses.

He tried to respond, but he couldn't move at all.

"Hang on Chin, the doctor's on his way."

_Doctor? Why would I need a doctor if..._

Somewhere in the distance, a door slammed. The noise echoed like a gunshot throughout the room.

At that moment, it all came rushing back. The bar. Walking home. Meeting Dakota. The fight. The thug pulling the trigger...

Chin's eyes flew open. He definitely wasn't in the hospital and the people around him were not his partners. Chin found himself staring at the ceiling. Exposed rafters criss-crossed above him and the lights were simply bare bulbs hanging from strings. He was in some kind of warehouse.

Frantically, he tried to sit up, but a restraint around his waist prevented him from rising more than a few inches off the bed. His fingers fumbled at the belt, trying to untie it.

Someone grabbed his wrist.

"Whoa, calm down!" a man's voice said. "Take it easy Chin, you've been through a lot lately." He came into Chin's blurry line of vision. "We promise we're not trying to hurt you."

"You've been shot in the leg." a red-headed woman said to his left. "The doctor's here. He's gonna fix you up."

Chin didn't know why, but the woman looked very familiar.

Also, he didn't see a doctor. All he saw were potential threats, people trying to kill him. He lashed out angrily and punched the man in the face. He fell backwards, releasing Chin's wrist. He tugged at the restraint, loosening it. The rope came away and he slid off the gurney.

A sharp pain shot through him. His leg couldn't take the weight. He collapsed to the floor and instead began to crawl.

The first man was back on his feet. He and another man stumbled after Chin. They grabbed him by the arms and lifted him up, still thrashing.

"What's wrong?" someone asked.

"He's panicked!" the woman yelled.

Chin kicked one of his captors in the knee, causing him to stumble. The other tried to pull Chin's arms behind his back, but got a black eye for his trouble.

Chin fell back down to the ground. He smiled to himself, having gotten the better of whoever these people where.

Or so he thought.

Something sharp plunged into his neck and he gasped. He felt something cold running through his veins and knew he'd just been injected with something.

Whether it was deadly or not, he didn't know.

He fell limp and rolled over on his side. His vision began to fade again as the men approached him slowly.

_Help_, he thought. But it was too late. The drug was in his brain.

He blacked out.

Chin re-woke with a splitting headache, a sensation not too different from having your head smashed open. His joints felt stiff from being still for too long, but when he tried to stretch them, he found that he couldn't move at all.

He was completely strapped to the gurney so he couldn't escape.

_Great,_ Chin thought. _Now what? _

He realized that his leg wasn't throbbing anymore. Slowly, he lifted his head to take a look. It was wrapped tightly with a clean strip of white gauze. He sighed and lay his head back down.

"Oh good, you're awake."

If he hadn't been so tightly bound, Chin probably would've jumped. He turned his head to see the red-headed woman standing in the doorway holding a tray. She had entered without making a sound, a fact Chin found unnerving...

Smiling, she walked over and placed the tray carefully at the foot of his bed. Then she frowned and began to untie the straps over his upper body.

"You'll have to excuse my comrades," she said, shaking her head. "They just don't know how to handle situations like this very well." She pulled the belts away, allowing Chin to sit up.

_What does she mean "situations like this?" _Chin thought. _What exactly am I dealing with here?_

The woman handed Chin the tray and began to untie his legs. He eyed the meal. Some soup. Grilled chicken and rice. A bottle of water.

It could be poisoned, but Chin was too hungry to care. He dug in.

Besides, if these people wanted him dead, they could've just left him on the sidewalk last night

The woman continued to smile. "You must have so many questions," she said.

Chin glared. "Why shouldn't I?" he asked. "You shoot me in the middle of the night, I wake up strapped to a gurney and surrounded by strangers. Don't you think that's a little questionable?"

She patted his hand. "Eat." she replied simply. "I'll take you to talk to the others when you're done."

Not the answer Chin wanted to hear, but it was better than nothing. He scarfed down the rest of his meal. The rice was a bit dry and the chicken was chewy, but he'd never finished his food faster. He tossed the fork aside and slid off the gurney. He stumbled and the woman caught him.

"I'm Holly by the way," she said, straitening him.

Chin leaned on her as she helped him to the door. Holly guided him to the adjoining room where five men lounged around looking quite bored, considering what happened a few hours before.

They all looked up as Holly led Chin to the couch so he could prop up his leg.

Chin's eyes darted around the room. He took in the five men and sized them up against himself. They were all bigger than him, the smallest maybe about Steve's size. There wasn't much difference between them though.

Chin knew he couldn't take all five of these guys in a fistfight. He could probably outrun them if his leg wasn't so banged up. He was pretty fast...but Holly was about his size. He had no doubt she could run.

"Alright," Chin finally said. "Explain yourselves."

The larger man who'd held him down stood and shot a glance at Holly, who nodded slightly. He smiled and took a deep breath.

"The name's Drake Stetson." he said, reaching into his jacket. He pulled out a badge and showed it to Chin. "I work for the Honolulu branch of the F.B.I. This is my team." he gestured to the men around him. "Alex Pophel, Keoki Shaffer, Mikkel Lazuli and Sam Colt."

Chin was confused. "What does the FBI want with me?" he asked.

His first thought was that he was being questioned about the payoffs again. He cringed.

Drake smiled. "It's nothing against _you,_ brah," he promised. "But you are in danger."

"Or, you where..." Keoki added. "We took care of it for you."

"What do you mean?" Chin shifted position and winced.

"The Sinhans are regrouping again." Drake replied. "And we have very good reason to believe they're after you."

"Did they shoot me?" Chin asked.

Everyone flinched. "Er...no," Holly said. "We did."

Chin froze. _"What?" _

"Calm down." Drake said. "We knew that if the Sinhans found you, or any of Five-0 for that matter, they would kill you. So, we sent some of our men to fake your murder. Or original plan was to leave a false trail, but then Agent Azburn's daughter showed up and...we had to..." Drake searched for the right word. "Improvise."

"So you pretended to murder me to throw the Sinhans off?" Chin asked incredulously. "How does that help anyone?"

Keoki smiled. "You're friends are safe," he said. "You're safe. And we know the location of their hideout. We'll have them in custody soon."

The mention of friends prompted Chin to think of Five-0. "What about my team?" he asked.

The smiles faded. Holly sat on the edge of the couch and met Chin's eyes sadly. "We...we think it's best that they believe you're dead..." she replied quietly. "For now."

Chin looked away. He rubbed his temples and sighed.

"It's for their own good, Chin." Mikkel added.

Chin didn't acknowledge him. His team thought he was dead. He and Steve were old friends...the man would be furious. So would Danny, but he wouldn't show it. As for Kono...

The thought of Kono, heartbroken, believing that he was dead, was enough to make him angry again.

The agents must've realized that Chin was depressed, because they backed off.

"We should leave him alone," Holly whispered. "This is a lot to stomach after he's just woken up. Let's let him think in peace."

Her partners nodded and began filing out of the room. Holly was last. She looked over at Chin sadly and closed the door behind her.

Chin wasn't sure, but he thought he heard the lock click. He sighed and laid his head on the arm of the couch.

The Sinhans were after him. Everyone believed he was dead.

Chin felt sick to his stomach. Could he really have been celebrating only a day ago?

Yes, that was about right.

Chin knew that fighting these agents would get him nowhere. They obviously believed that what they were doing what was best. Even if it _was_ a bit misguided.

There was only one thing that still bothered him. If the Sinhans weren't caught, there was a good chance Chin could be in danger. Not just him, but his family...Kono as well.

Maybe even more so once they discovered they had been tricked.

The question that scared Chin was, was Hawaii even safe for them anymore?


	7. Chapter 6

Kono pulled up to the shaggy old building and shut off the car. She climbed out and slammed the door, pausing a moment to look up at the faded neon sign and peeling paint. She shook her head and strolled confidentially towards the front door.

Now, anybody on the street would assume that this ratty, old hole in the wall was just another overcrowded gambler's joint.

However, Kono knew different. This sad old building just might be the key to finding Chin...

Or his killers.

The Sinhans owned quite a few bars on the backstreets of Hawaii. Some of them were even popular with tourists, but this one was popular among the gang members themselves.

If Alden really was in charge, this was where he'd be.

Kono wouldn't be caught dead at a place like this otherwise.

Sighing, she pushed through the door. The strong odor of alcohol and cigar smoke hit her nostrils and her face soured. Trying not to gag, she stepped away from the door. Squinting in the dim light, she made her way across the room.

The door slammed behind her. Every head in the bar looked up to see her and the place went silent. Kono paid them no mind as she slid into a seat. The bartender came over, wiping his hands on his apron.

"What can I getcha' sweetheart?"

"Just water please," Kono said. "I'm driving."

The bartender raised his eyebrows. In response, Kono flashed an award-winning smile. The man shrugged and filled her glass.

"Thanks," she said, nodding. The bartender moved down to address another customer.

Kono sipped her water slowly, looking around the room at the men, who were all drunk and laughing.

_Any of these guys could be our man,_ Kono thought. _I just have to figure out which one._

Someone grabbed her shoulder and she jumped. Kono whirled around to see a tall man standing in front of her.

He was drunk. Kono could smell the alcohol on him. The man grinned and leaned against the bar.

"Aww, come on baby," he slurred. "You don't want that, let me by you a drink."

Kono gave a small smile. "No thanks," she replied.

The man frowned. He clearly wasn't used to having pretty girls turn him down. "Come on," he said again. "Where's your sense of adventure?"

"It ran away with my sense of smell," Kono said dryly. "I said _no_."

"But I said yes." The man reached for her hand.

That was the final straw. The man may have been intoxicated, but he'd just crossed the fine line from obnoxious to dangerous.

Kono grabbed the man's arm and threw him into the bar. He flipped over the counter and crashed into the opposite shelf, breaking half a dozen bottles.

There was silence as Kono turned to the crowd.

"I'm looking for someone," she said. "He goes by the name Alden. Anyone know him?"

Continued silence. The men refused to look at her.

Finally, one man coughed. "What's it to ya?"

Kono pushed through the crowd and stood towering over the stocky man. She smiled.

"That's for me to know, and for Alden to find out." she said. "Can you take me to him?"

"Maybe." the man said. "I'm not sure."

Kono rolled her eyes. This man fit the gang stereotype far too well. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her wallet, extracting a ten dollar bill.

"This is your half up front," she warned. "You can have the rest when we get there."

The man pocketed the money. "Alright then," he said attempting a smile. He gestured towards the front door. "Ladies first?"

"You're the guide," Kono said. "Lead on."

The man shrugged. "Sure." he replied. "Follow me."

The man took her around the back of the bar and paused outside a storage warehouse connected to the building.

"He's in there." he said, gesturing with his head.

Kono eyed the building. It was nothing much, just a metal skeleton covered with aluminum side paneling. The walls were rusted and peeling from years of decay. It was the place many people would overlook.

Which made it perfect for a gang leader's hideout.

"Alright," Kono said. "You stay here. I'm going in."

"What about my money?"

The rookie cop glared. "You'll get your money when I'm done." she replied. "To make sure you didn't set me up."

The man swallowed nervously under her dagger-like gaze. "Wouldn't dream of it." he squeaked.

Kono threw open the door and stepped inside.

It was pitch black. Kono reached for the flashlight on her belt and clicked it on. The light highlighted the words engraved into the hilt.

Kono rubbed her thumb absent-mindlessly across the words _To My Cousin. _A tear rolled slowly down her cheek.

The flashlight had been a graduation present from Chin. Besides her surfboard, it was the one thing she held dear. Having the light felt like she had a piece of him with her. Like he could be right there in the room beside her.

This thought comforted her as she searched the room. She spied a box of papers in the corner and knelt next to them.

Kono ruffled through the box but found nothing important. Sighing, she started to stand when the circle of light hit the floor underneath a nearby table. Something flashed white in the darkness.

What was that?

Kono got down on her stomach and wiggled under the table, stretching for the paper. As her fingers closed around it, she noticed that it was much thicker than she had expected.

She withdrew from under the table and shined the light on the paper. It was an envelope. Kono turned it over.

Written neatly on the front was the name Iakona Shiyler, followed by the address of the bar. The return address was one line...but no name.

"Hey! What're you doing in here?"

Kono whirled around, quickly hiding the envelope behind her back. A mountain of a man stood in the opposite doorway, glowering at her. Kono took a deep breath and composed herself.

"I'm here to see Alden."

The man frowned. "You got an appointment?" he grunted.

Kono stepped forward. "No," she admitted. "But I'm sure we can come to an agreement."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a 20, casually fanning herself with it.

The man wasn't impressed. "No appointment, no deal." he said.

Kono huffed. "Surely Alden doesn't pay you enough." she insisted.

The man snorted. "Ain't that the truth," he replied. "I got people to feed, and I can hardly do that with the dollars I'm bringing in."

"See? Don't you think you deserve better pay?"

"Uh, well..." the man said

"Well," Kono smiled sweetly. "If you let me in, I'll make sure to bring it up."

The concept seemed to sit well with the guard, because after a while he nodded.

"You make a convincing argument, gorgeous." he said. "Come with me." He beckoned for her to follow as he turned and walked out the door.

Kono followed the man down a long hallway that was just as dark as the main room. Kono kept her flashlight on and one hand on the envelope in her pocket.

The hallway ended at a single door. The man knocked three times on it. It swung open and he pushed Kono inside.

This room was much brighter than the hallway, which made Kono squint. The room didn't look like the center of a warehouse, with elaborately decorated couches, a sliver coffee table and a granite bar that ran from one end of the room to another. A mousy-faced man was heading the coffee machine and margarita maker that took up the bar's space. Two guards slammed the door behind them, making Kono jump.

"Hey boss," the man said. "You've got a visitor."

One of the chairs swirled around, revealing the man Kono assumed was Alden. She was rather surprised at his appearance, having expected some sort of greasy thug similar to Sang Min. This man wasn't like that at all. He was well-built, with rippling muscles that showed under his thin suit. He was evenly tanned, like a man who spent a lot of time outdoors. His brown hair was neatly trimmed and his brown eyes were like pools of mud. He raised his eyebrows when he saw Kono, but then smiled, revealing a line of perfect white teeth. He stood and extended his hand.

"Hello," he said calmly. Kono shook his hand. "Alden Gentry at your service."

"April," Kono replied with a small smile. "April Kelly."

Alden released her hand. "Pleased to meet you Miss Kelly." he said. "Won't you have a seat?"

"Thank you," Kono sat carefully on one of the velvet couches. Alden nodded once to the guards, who left, closing the door behind them.

"So," Alden sat across from Kono and picked up a margarita glass. "To what do I owe this pleasant visit?"

Kono folded her hands and chose her words carefully. "I represent an alternate group of people that also works for your _particular_ line of work." she began. "There have been rumors around town that Chin Ho Kelly of Five-0 is dead."

Alden froze, his glass halfway to his lips. He took a deep drink, swallowed, and raised his eyebrows.

"Is that so?" he said. "Well that's news to me."

"Really?" Kono leaned forward. "Because rumor also has it that you and your men are responsible. This makes sense, we figured, since he was your biggest threat."

"W-we?"

"My partners and I." Kono continued. "In fact, the boss was so impressed, he was willing to reward whoever did it."

Kono felt sick to her stomach saying this. But it was worth it if she could find out where Chin was.

Alden blinked. "Reward?"

"Very. Large. Reward." Kono stressed each word slowly.

Alden swallowed again, apparently thinking it over. His eyes flickered to the door and then to Kono.

Finally, he motioned her forward.

"Okay listen," he began, lowering his voice. "A few weeks ago, some of our guys from Waikiki came to see me. They had a girl with them who wanted to take care of Chin Ho for us. She paid me and three of my hit men 100 bucks each to find him and wound him. Said she'd take care of the rest."

"What was the woman's name?"

"Holly something," Alden replied. "Don't know her last name. Green eyes, red hair, really tall. Looked about 30-ish."

Kono nodded and stood. "Thank you for your help," she said sweetly. "Do me a favor and keep this conversation quiet, okay?"

"Sure," Alden smiled. "Whatever you say. When will the money get here?"

Kono smiled as she opened the door. "We'll get back to you on it," she replied. "Have a nice day."

The door slammed behind her.


	8. Chapter 7

"There was over four hundred dollars in that envelope." Danny threw the paper down in front of Steve. "Apparently our guy wasn't lying."

Steve rubbed his forehead. "No surprise there." he said. "I believe he rather liked bragging about his big accomplishment."

Kono gripped the side of the computer table so hard, her knuckles turned white. "Makes me sick." she muttered.

"Did you run the name Iakona through the database?"

Danny nodded. "Nothing came up. It's probably a fake name."

"Most likely." Steve leaned against the computer desk. "What did you find, Kono?"

Kono leaned over and touched some pictures on the screen. Using one finger, she sent them to the main screen. A mug shot of a red-headed woman appeared.

"I ran Holly's name through the HPD database along with Alden's description." Kono began. "I got a few hits but only one was from the immediate area." She gestured to the pictures as she spoke. "Holly McDought, who was also an officer for HPD before her husband..." A picture of a stern-faced man appeared next to Holly. "Attacked her with a steak knife in the middle of the night. He left her for dead and fled Hawaii with their dog and about 500 dollars in cash."

Danny whistled. "Talk about issues."

"Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one." Kono continued. "When Holly got out of the hospital she became obsessed with getting revenge. She tracked her husband down for four years before murdering him in New York City. Holly spent the next few years in and out of prison for murder and armed robbery."

"Where does she live now?"

"Right here in Honolulu," Kono said. "She's been quiet for a few months, checking in with her probation officer every so often."

"So let me get this straight." Danny began. "We're dealing with a psychopath who uses her hard developed police skills to commit thirty consecutive crimes before deciding to go quiet? How does that work?"

"The only reason would be if she wanted to pull of something big," Steve said. "Something no one would be expecting."

"Like murder." Kono said. "Or kidnapping."

"So where does Chin come in?" Danny asked.

Steve thought for a moment, and then snapped his fingers. "When Chin worked for HPD, he and my dad dealt with a lot of robbery cases together. There was one that stuck in my mind because Dad called me at 4:00 one morning to tell me about it. Someone had robbed the First National in Waikiki."

"Chin told me about that too," Kono said. "He said that Detective McGarrett had cornered a woman in the safe. She tried to escape through the employee entrance and ran right into Chin, who was covering the back doors."

"The woman got three years in jail for it." Steve added. "Two extra because she attacked a police officer." He smiled at Kono. "We figured it out."

Kono grinned back.

"I hate to be the wet blanket here, but what exactly have we figured out?" Danny asked.

Kono rolled her eyes. Steve turned to his partner.

"Look," he said. "Three years ago, Holly robbed a bank. When she tried to escape, she ran into Chin, who got her arrested. When she discovers he's a cop again, she decides to carry out her revenge. And what better way to do that..."

"That with the one group of criminals who absolutely hate him." Danny finished. "Of course."

"We just don't know where they are, though." Steve said.

"I may have figured that out too." Kono replied. "I looked up the return address on the envelope. Turns out, it was just an empty lot. However," she continued to Steve and Danny's incredulous looks. "The nearest place to it was a warehouse located in uptown Honolulu." Kono put the picture on-screen. "Just five miles from here."

"And you think that's where he is?" Danny asked.

"It's a start." Steve replied. He grabbed the keys to the Camaro. "Come on, if we leave now, we can get there before anything happens."

"Get where before what happens?"

The team froze.

Dakota stood in the doorway, holding a small pastry box in her hands. She approached the team and placed the box on the computer desk.

"Hey Kota..." Danny muttered. "What're you doing here?"

"I hadn't gotten any calls so I thought I'd come by. No one at work will tell me anything." she said. Dakota was a desk jockey for HPD, she was working on becoming a full-time cop. She tapped the box. "I brought cookies."

Kono shot a glance at Steve. "You didn't call her?"

"I forgot okay?" Steve snapped. "Besides it doesn't matter right now. We have to go."

Dakota leaned against the desk, conveniently blocking Steve's path. "Go where...exactly?" she asked.

The room remained silent. Dakota looked at each of their faces in turn. Suddenly, her eyes got big.

"You found something out, didn't you?" she demanded. No one replied. "You know where he is, don't you?"

"Kota..." Danny began.

_"Don't you?" _

"Yes." Danny sighed. "We think we know where he could be."

Steve groaned.

Dakota nodded. "I'm coming with you."

"Now hold on a second Dakota," Steve said. "There's no way you can come. Your dad would kill me."

Dakota shook her head and laughed. _"My dad?"_ she said. "That's _really_ gonna be your excuse, Steve?"

Steve sighed. "Look Kota," he said. "You're still an Academy undergraduate; you can't be running around in full gear yet."

"Kono was!"

Kono snorted. Steve gave her the _"not helping"_ look. He looked back at Dakota.

"Okay yes, she was," Steve agreed. "But..."

Dakota stopped him in mid-sentence. "No buts Steve." she said. "I know you want to protect me for my dad's sake, but he knows what I'll be facing when I graduate. He's cool with it. Besides," she added with a mischievous grin. "Even if you do say no, I can follow you there and become a liability instead of an asset. Do you really want that to happen?"

Steve looked back at his team and raised his eyebrows in question. Danny smirked. Kono shrugged. Steve turned back to Dakota.

"Alright." he agreed. "You're in."


	9. Chapter 8

Chin was fast asleep when he heard the first gunshots. Somewhere, glass shattered and Chin sat strait up in bed.

Behind the door, Holly was screaming orders. Something was very wrong.

Drake and Sam bolted through the door and locked it behind them. They leaned against it, breathing heavily and looking pale and cornered.

"What's wrong?" Chin demanded.

Sam wet his lips nervously. He and Drake exchanged looks.

"You've been found." was all he said. "We have to get you out of here."

Chin allowed them to help him up from the bed. They held him aloft by his arms and guided him towards the exit.

The doorknob rattled and shook as the person on the other side attempted to open the door.

"This one's locked!" someone yelled.

"Well, try to open it!"

The voices sounded familiar, but in his half-asleep state, Chin couldn't figure out why.

"We have to get you to the car." Sam said.

"There's no time!" Drake sounded desperate. His eyes flickered around the room. "The closet!" he ordered.

They half-led, half dragged Chin over to the utility closet. Chin did his best to be an easy passenger, but winced every time his bad leg made contact with the floor.

Finally, the three men climbed into the closet and closed the door behind them. A good thing too, because no sooner had Sam pulled the door shut, then the door smashed open and the intruders burst in.

Chin found himself sitting near a knothole big enough for him to spy through. He could see parts of the intruders as they spread out among the room. As far as Chin could see, there were two men and one woman, all armed and all very confident-looking.

"Clear," A man's voice called out.

"Here too." the woman said, poking her head into the adjacent room.

"Damn it," the second man said. "Where are they?"

Suddenly, a fourth woman came into the room. "He's not in the main office either," she said. "Or any other rooms over there." One of the men moved away and Chin saw the woman's face. He gasped.

"Dakota!"

Sam slapped a hand over Chin's mouth, but it was too late. Five-0 had frozen, ears straining for another sound.

Chin struggled against Sam's strength. He knew now what was going on.

_I should've known from the moment I saw Kono,_ Chin thought. _The Sinhans don't recruit women._

Drake leaned over to whisper in Chin's ear. "Are you crazy?" he hissed. "Do you want to give us away?"

Chin pulled away from Sam. "You're no FBI agents," he said, finally realizing. "_You're_ the Sinhans."

In response, Sam grabbed Chin by the wrists and pinned his arms behind his back. He pulled out his gun and pressed it to Chin's head. "And what're you gonna do about it Kelly?" he asked. "You're in no position to be doing anything."

Chin glared daggers. "And to think," he whispered. "That I trusted you. And Holly? I knew she looked familiar." Chin glanced at Drake. "This is her revenge plan, not yours."

Drake smirked. "Does it matter?" he asked. "Either way, you're dead."

Sam chuckled quietly. "You never could trust the right people." he said. "And this time, it's gonna cost you."

Steve and the team listened for another few minutes for any other sound from Chin.

"At least we know he's here." Dakota said.

"Holly too." Danny added. "She wouldn't be here if he was still alive."

They hadn't seen hide or hair of Holly since they arrived, which worried them.

"Are we too late?" Kono asked suddenly.

"Define 'late.'"

Five-0 whirled around. Sam and Drake stepped out of the closet, holding aloft a very battered looking Chin. Sam held his pistol to the cop's temple.

Dakota made a horrified sound in the back of her throat. Kono's eyes were trained on Chin's face; a deadly expression crossed her features.

Steve cocked his gun. "Let him go," he demanded. "Now."

"Or what?"

Danny nearly jumped out of his skin as Holly appeared in the doorway beside him. She smirked, and then walked around to join Drake and Sam. "You really aren't in any position to be making demands McGarrett."

Steve glared at her, and then looked at Chin. His friend gave a small smile then nodded slightly.

_"Now!"_ Steve yelled.

Danny fired his gun, shooting Sam in the hand, causing him to reflexively let go of Chin and the pistol. It clattered to the ground and both Danny and Sam dove for it at the same time. Chin collapsed to the ground and began crawling out of the line of fire.

Kono surprised Drake with a kick to the face. He staggered backwards, reeling, and groped for his gun. Kono pinned his arms and slammed him against the wall, disarming him.

Steve fired at Holly, who rolled out of the way and ducked into the opposite room.

"Mikkel, Keoki!" she yelled.

Two more giant thugs appeared in the doorway. Keoki grabbed Dakota and tried to pin her down but Kota jammed her elbow into his stomach. He doubled over in pain and Kota pressed her thumb into the pressure point on his neck. He slammed into the ground.

Steve used his gun to his advantage. Whenever Mikkel got too close, Steve would slam the butt of his pistol into his face. Mikkel fell backwards, bleeding from multiple wounds and lay on the ground groaning.

"Get Chin out of here!" Steve ordered Dakota.

"What about Holly?"

"Holly's mine." Steve growled. "Just protect Chin."

Dakota nodded assent. She dodged past Danny and Sam, who were still trading blows on the floor and knelt next to Chin, who was leaning up against the wall. He tried for a smile, but it came out as more of a grimace.

"Hey." he said. "Long time no see."

Dakota smiled despite the fact that she felt like crying. "I know." she said, feigning disappointment. "You missed movie night."

"What a shame. And I was so looking forward to it."

Dakota laughed quietly. "Let's get you out of here." she suggested.

As Kota attempted to get Chin back on his feet, the chaos was slowly winding down. Steve and Holly were now circling each other, both looking for an opening, neither finding one.

Danny pulled Sam up from the floor. The thug's hands were handcuffed and Danny held the man's gun in his hand.

"Not so tough now are you?" he asked

Kono had Drake pressed against the wall. Despite his scary appearance, the man had terrible fighting skills.

The room was silent except for the sound of heavy breathing.

Finally, Steve spoke.

"Give it up Holly," he said. "It's over."

"Be careful Steve," Chin warned. "She's sneakier than she looks."

Holly tossed back her head and laughed. "He's right McGarrett." she said. "It's not over yet. Your other targets may have given up easily, but that's not how my game is played."

She signaled to Drake, who whirled around and grabbed Kono's wrist, twisting it behind her and pressing down. Kono cried out and doubled over. Drake took back his gun and tossed it to Holly, who waved it teasingly in front of Steve.

Kono wriggled out of Drake's grip and slammed him back into the wall.

Steve took a step towards Holly. Suddenly, she had it pointed at Chin's chest.

"Don't come near me McGarrett," she warned. "Or I will shoot."

Steve froze. Dakota positioned herself protectively in front of Chin.

"It's okay Kota." Steve said. "She won't"

Danny raised his eyebrows. "Umm, I think she will Steve." he said cautiously.

"She won't." Steve insisted. He stared at Holly. "That's not what she wants."

"Isn't it Holly?" he added. "You want more than just revenge. You want satisfaction, you want to enjoy it. There's no way you'd finish the job that easily. Otherwise you'd have done it by now."

Silence.

Then, much to everyone's surprise, Holly smiled.

"You know what?" she asked. "You're absolutely right. I _wouldn'_t do it that easily."

Her lips parted in a devious grin.

"But there's always the second option."

Before Steve could react, she readjusted her aim and fired.


	10. Chapter 9

The bullet cracked as it exploded from the gun. Steve's ears rang loudly for a moment before the shock subsided. He stared wildly at Holly, who simply smirked.

"Oh no..._oh no_."

Steve turned around expecting to see Chin dead despite everything they'd gone through. He was still leaned against the wall, perfectly fine.

But it wasn't him the team was looking at.

Dakota fell over on Chin's knees, her hands pressed against the wound in her stomach, right in the spot where her Kevlar vest ended and left a small amount of skin exposed. She gasped for breath and struggled to remain conscious.

"No!" Steve yelled. Turning his back on Holly, he ran to Dakota's side and gently flipped her onto her back. She curled into a ball, trying to stop the blood flow.

"Dakota." Steve said desperately. "Stay with me Dakota." As he spoke, he took off his vest, ripped off his outer shirt and pressed it against the wound. "Help me get her vest off." he told Chin.

Together, they removed the Kevlar, and pressed the shirt against the flow of blood. "Can you hold that there?" Steve asked Dakota.

She nodded weakly. "Don't worry about me." she croaked. "I...I'll be fine."

Steve and Chin exchanged glances. "Go." Chin whispered. "I'll watch her."

He took Dakota's hand in his and gently squeezed it.

Steve nodded and stood, slowly turning to face Holly. She waved the gun, still smiling. "Your move McGarrett."

Steve approached her slowly, reaching for his gun. Suddenly a hand reached out and stopped him. Steve looked up and met Kono's eyes.

"Let me take her." she said. "You need to help Dakota."

"Kono..." Steve began.

"No," she insisted. "This is my fight. Chin's my cousin. I want to see how good she is when faced with a family member."

Steve smiled at the younger cop. "Very well," he said. "She's all yours."

Steve backed away from Holly, much to her surprise. Kono released Drake, who slumped against the wall, hands cuffed.

Kono and Holly began to circle each other. Suddenly, Holly lashed out and punched Kono in the jaw. Kono stumbled back and hit the wall, hard.

"Aww," Holly cooed. "Did I surprise you sweetie?" She laughed as Kono glared at her through a curtain of hair. "You better step up your game rookie."

Kono rubbed her jaw tenderly, and then returned the favor with an uppercut to the chin. Holly fell back and Kono kicked her in the chest. She toppled backwards and crashed into the window. There was the shattering of glass and Holly collapsed to the floor.

"Better?" Kono asked sarcastically.

Holly looked up, breathing heavily. "Not really." she replied.

She swung her legs around, knocking Kono's feet out from under her. Holly jumped up and ran for the door.

"I got her!" Steve called, running after her.

But Kono was one step ahead of him. She sprinted across the room, jumped on Holly's back, and wrapped her arms around her neck.

Holly doubled over, pulling at Kono's arms. Kono strengthened her grip, cutting off Holly's breath. She dropped to her knees, gasping.

Kono released the woman's neck. She pinned Holly's arms behind her back and pressed her to the ground. She bound her hands and pulled her up. Holly was bleeding from a cut on her cheek, and she glared flames at Kono.

"I'll have to hand it to you." Kono said as she escorted Holly back to the team. "Your plan was actually very good. There was only one problem."

"What?" Holly growled through gritted teeth.

Kono pushed her along. "You messed with my family."

Twenty minutes later, Five-0 basically had the mess all cleaned up. Danny and Kono worked on cleaning out the weapons stash and locked Holly and the remaining Sinhans in an adjacent room for holding until help arrived.

Steve called Governor Jameson and told her the news. She was happy that Chin was alive after all. However, she wasn't pleased that a civilian had been wounded and promised to dispatch cruisers immediately. Steve thanked her and hung up.

Just when things began to seem well again, Chin called him back to reality.

"Steve," he said softly.

He remembered Dakota and turned around. Chin still held Dakota's hand tightly in his. He looked up, desperate and pleading as Steve knelt next to them.

"Dakota..." Steve whispered. "Dakota."

Her eyes fluttered at the sound of her name. Slowly, she opened her eyes. "Steve," she sighed. "Did we win?"

Steve rubbed her leg. "Yeah..." he replied. "We won." Dakota smiled.

Neither Chin nor Steve could take their eyes off her, struck by how awful she looked. Her skin was pale and clammy to the touch. She'd already bled through the wrap, her breath was shallow and heavy and she was shivering.

"Just hold on a little longer, Kota." Chin whispered. "The ambulance is almost here."

Dakota closed her eyes. A shudder passed through her body.

"Danny! Kono!" Steve called, his voice raising an octave higher in panic. His partners came running in from where they'd been guarding the prisoners.

Kono spied Dakota and immediately understood. She covered her mouth with her hand and dropped to her knees in shock.

"No..." she whispered.

Danny stood behind Steve and put a hand on his shoulder.

And that's how they stayed, gathered closely together in the corner of an abandoned warehouse, listening to what might be the to-late sound of sirens echoing in the distance.


	11. Chapter 10

They were almost too late.

When the cruisers arrived, Danny handed custody of Holly and the gang members to HPD, who thanked Five-0 for solving the case. Medics piled out of ambulances to take Dakota and Chin to the hospital.

As Steve, Danny and Kono followed behind all the way there, Steve gathered the nerve to call Andrew and tell him what happened.

Danny guessed his partner's intentions. "He's gonna find out sometime." he said "It's better he hear it from you than from anyone else."

Steve sighed and selected Andrew's number from his contact list. The dial tone crackled from the speaker.

"Hello?"

"Hey Andrew..." Steve said. "I suppose I should tell you. We found Chin. He's alive and on the way to the hospital."

"That's great man!" Andrew replied.

"Yeah..." Steve cleared his throat. "But um, there was a..."he paused and took a deep breath. "Listen... how fast can you get to the hospital?"

As it turned out, Andrew actually beat them there. Once he found out that his daughter was wounded, he'd booked it to the emergency room and was there when they arrived.

At the clinic, Chin was examined thoroughly by the doctors. They announced him to be okay, saying whoever fixed up his leg had done a pretty good job. Chin was confined to a wheelchair for a week, saying he was thankful that was all they had to do.

Dakota however, was another story. Doctors whisked her immediately into surgery, leaving Five-0 and Andrew alone in the hallway. Steve remained constantly at Andrew's side, offering comfort when his friend needed it. Kono, Danny and Chin stayed together, not talking, but enjoying each other's company. The atmosphere was too thick with grief for small talk now.

Dakota was in surgery for a good six hours. Nurses attempted to send the team home multiple times, but to no avail. None of them would budge. Finally, they just offered them some coffee and left them be.

Andrew was beside himself. He paced back and forth down the hall. Steve watched him sadly.

"I'm sorry." He said. "This is my fault."

Andrew paused and looked at Steve. His face looked tired and sad.

"I don't blame you Steve." He murmured. "But I can't lose Dakota. Not after Emily…I can't. Sh-she's all I have."

Emily was Andrew's wife and Dakota's mother. She'd died in a plane crash when Dakota was ten.

Steve said nothing, but the guilt weighed him down even more.

It was almost midnight when the head surgeon, Dr. Wagile, came around the corner. Everyone stood and gathered around him as he approached.

"How is she?" Andrew demanded.

The doctor gave a tired smile. "She's alive." he said.

The tension in the room eased as everyone gave a sigh of relief. Danny smiled at Andrew, who was rubbing his forehead. "Thank God," he muttered, closing his eyes.

"We got the round out in time, and she didn't lose too much blood." Dr. Wagile continued. "However, she's going to need some rest. She's asleep at the moment, but she should be awake by tomorrow morning. You can see her then."

"Thanks Doc," Steve said. The doctor nodded and left the team to stew in their own thoughts.

"She's alive." Andrew said slowly, as if he couldn't believe it.

Steve clapped his friend on the back. "Yeah man, she's alive." he said. "She's gonna be okay."

Andrew smiled for the first time in hours.

"You should go home." Steve said to Kono. "Take Chin with you."

"I'm not going anywhere unless you promise to get some sleep too." Kono replied.

Steve smiled. "Okay," he agreed. "In fact, we should all go home." He glanced at Andrew. "I don't think they're going to allow you to sleep at the hospital."

"Believe me Steve," Andrew said. "I would if I could."

The friends went their separate ways home. Even when they were all locked safely in their houses for the night, the subject of Dakota's health never left their minds.

Not once.

The next morning, Steve, Danny and Andrew loaded up into the Camaro and drove to the hospital. They stopped halfway there to signal Chin and Kono, who followed behind in the Traverse.

They pulled into the parking lot and entered the building. They were met by Dr. Wagile, who smiled, welcoming, at them.

"You're in luck." he said. She's awake."

The team looked at each other, and then Danny nodded to Andrew.

"Family first." he said.

Andrew shot Danny a grateful look before pulling open the door and stepping inside. Once again, Five-0 made themselves comfortable in the hallway as best they could, ready to wait it out.

Ten. Twenty. Thirty minutes passed and Steve had never been more anxious. Finally, Andrew poked his head out the door, smiling, and said;

"Come in everyone! She wants to see you!"

Everyone exchanged looks. Taking initiative, Steve walked forward. Smiling, Andrew held the door open as the team filed slowly inside. First Steve, then Danny, followed by Kono pushing Chin. Andrew pulled the door shut and squeezed past Danny to stand next to his daughter.

Dakota was propped up in the hospital bed, looking tired, but healthy. Her hair was a mess and the dark circles under her eyes looked very prominent. She was rubbing her stomach tenderly. Steve already felt responsible for Kota's accident, but when he saw her, he only felt worse.

Dakota's eyes lit up when she saw Five-0. She grinned right at Steve and held out her arms.

Steve leaded down and hugged her gently, careful not to put any pressure on her stomach.

"Good to see you Steve," she said.

Steve nodded and pulled away. "I'm so sorry," he began. "I shouldn't have..."

Dakota raised her hand to stop him. "Don't feel bad." she said. "It's not your fault. I probably would've followed you anyway and then have been worse off." She winked at her dad. "I'm stubborn like that."

Andrew chuckled. "She is." he said.

Dakota peered past Steve. "Hey Danno." she said.

"Hey there, toughy," Danny replied. "You feeling alright?"

Dakota winced. "I've been better."

Danny laughed. "The feeling goes away, I assure you." he promised.

"Oh so you're an expert on getting shot now?" Steve asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I am, thanks to you."

"That was _one time_ Danno, you need to get over it."

"Okay ladies," Chin said, laughing. "Go outside and fight if you must, and let the rest of us talk."

Kono snickered. She gave Dakota a quick once-over and smiled. "I must say, you look good." she said. "No bandages?"

Kota winced. With careful fingers she undid a few buttons on her gown and opened it up wide, revealing a layer of gauze wrapped all around her stomach. "I have stitches." she admitted. "But I also had some smaller cuts from bullet fragments."

"Ouch." Kono whistled.

Dakota shrugged and buttoned the gown back up. Then she looked down at Chin and her whole demeanor changed. Her eyes softened. Suddenly, her voice got quieter.

"Still in one piece?" she asked him.

"Remotely," Chin replied. "You seem to be in pretty good shape yourself. Considering." His eyes twinkled. "I suppose this means I owe you one."

Dakota laughed. She reached down and took Chin's hand. Their eyes met briefly.

"Can Dakota and I talk for a few minutes?" Chin asked. "Alone?"

Everyone stared at him, confused.

"Please." he added, with a pointed look at Kono.

Kono gave a small smile. "Let's leave them guys," she suggested.

Steve and Danny both shrugged and left the room. Andrew leaned over and kissed his daughter once on the forehead before following.

Kono gave her cousin's shoulder a quick squeeze, then smiled knowingly at Dakota before leaving, closing the door behind her.

Chin leaned forward as best her could in his chair, grasping both Dakota's hands in his.

"I want to thank you for everything Kota," he said. "For being there." His eyes flickered to the floor. "I'm just sorry you had to get hurt."

"Hey," Dakota said. She reached up and gently touched his face. "Don't be, that's all part of the job. The more cases I do, the higher the risks will be. You don't have to apologize for my choices."

Chin took Dakota's hand off his cheek and kissed it once. They looked in each other's eyes for the longest time before Dakota looked down awkwardly. Chin put one finger under her chin and pushed her head back up.

"I love you Dakota." Chin said suddenly.

The statement was so unexpected, that for a moment, Dakota was speechless. Finally, she cleared her throat and smiled.

"I love you Chin." She said.

"Will you go out with me then?"

Silence. Dakota looked so surprised. Chin thought he'd pushed it too far. He searched for the right words to take it back,when Kota smiled and kissed him gently on the lips.

"I thought you'd never ask." she said.

Chin blinked, dumbfounded. "So...that's a yes then?" he asked.

Dakota laughed. "_Yes!_ Yes of _course_!" she said.

Chin smiled brightly. "Well then," he said. "You just made my day."

"I figured you needed a pick me up." Kota said.

Just then, the nurse poked her head in. "I'm sorry Mr. Kelly," she said in a too-formal tone. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave, Miss Azburn needs her rest."

Chin squeezed Dakota's hand. "See you tomorrow?"

"I'll be here."

Chin rolled himself into the hallway where Kono was still waiting. She was leaning against the wall and smiling.

"You asked her didn't you?"

Chin smiled back. "Yeah, I did."

Kono grabbed the handlebars of the chair and began to steer him out. "Good for you." she said. Then she chuckled as they walked down the hallway. "You know this gives me full rights to tease you both now." she said.

Chin laughed as he looked up at her.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."


End file.
